Now in its 13th year, the annual Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Business Survey asks all East Anglian based businesses from across the sector to join forces and take part.

The survey was launched today by Larking Gowen, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, and is supported by organisations such as Visit East Anglia, Visit Essex, Visit Norfolk and Visit Suffolk.

All businesses in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector including restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions as well as retailers in the tourism hotspots are being encouraged to participate in the independent survey.

The sector is the largest in East Anglia, one of the biggest employers and estimated to be worth around £10bn to the East Anglian economy. Participants have the opportunity to fill in the survey and gauge their achievements. They can also receive a tailored report which analyses their yearly performance, giving them a valuable benchmarking planning tool.

Those who fill in the survey remain anonymous in the published report, which provides an annual snapshot of the sector across East Anglia. The survey includes questions about the short and long term impact of issues like Brexit, the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and delves into questions around the use of plastics, profit margins and, more generally, how businesses have performed in the last year.

The results are published as an annual brochure, which includes features and news stories about participating businesses who have chosen to publicise their successes.

Many of the businesses that provide services to this sector fully support the annual survey and this year the survey is sponsored by Adnams, Camplings, and Howes Percival.